News & Notices
Commission Meets in Netherlands, Plans OISTAT Events
Pictured is one of the student models for a Shakespeare production, which was on display at the OISTAT Education Commission meeting.
Image/Courtesy William Kenyon
The OISTAT Education Commission held its annual meeting in Maastricht, The Netherlands April 19 to 23. The meeting was hosted by the Toneelacademie Maastricht and was held in conjunction with a festival of performances at the academy and surrounding performance venues in the historic city.
The main business of the meeting was the preparation for upcoming events, updates on current projects, a review of the accomplishments of the commission during the tenure of the outgoing Chair, Marina Raytchinova, and election of a new Chair.
Upcoming events include the International Stage Design Student Works Exchange (ISDSWE), World Stage Design (WSD), and Scenofest.
The ISDSWE was proposed in 2010 by the Central Academy of Drama, and was held for the first time in 2011. It brought together 23 students and 12 professors from 14 schools around the world for a five-day gallery showing of student work and a collaborative workshop that resulted in a performance at the end of the event.
The event will be held again in 2012 and thereafter is expected to be held every two years. After the Central Academy finishes its new building in 2013, it will be able to open up participation in the event to a much broader audience.
World Stage Design 2013 and Scenofest 2013 will both be held September 5 to 15, 2013 at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. The organizers are planning an incredible slate of events around WSD/Scenofest for students, educators, and professionals. The WSD 2013 website is already up and running.
Reports were given on Digital Theatre Words and the World Scenography books. Digital Theatre Words is nearing completion of its first "edition," and is available by following links starting here. The first of three editions in the World Scenography set were recently released and may be purchased at WorldScenography.org.
Ms. Raytchinova gave a report on her eight years as chair during which the Education Commission grew in membership and held a number of successful meetings. The Education Commission has been instrumental in running Scenofest, developing Digital Theatre Words, connecting students and faculty around the world, and bringing many interesting and diverse educational viewpoints together on a regular basis. During the last term, there were meetings in Helsinki, Moscow, Beijing, Prague (PQ '11), Novi Sad, Beijing (ISDSWE), and finally Maastricht.
Elections were held for a new Chair of the Commission. Ian Evans, from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, was elected and will serve a four-year term. William Kenyon, USITT's delegate, was appointed as Vice-Chair.
There was a full program of performances, exhibits of student works, and tours of the Academy and the city. The Commission is grateful to Leo Swinkels, Sjef Tilly, and the rest of the hosts from the Toneelacademie Maastricht for a successful OISTAT Commission Meeting. Twenty-five representatives from 17 different OISTAT centers, including Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Serbia, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States attended.
